G is for Guertena
by Purple Shell
Summary: What if... Guertena had lost his memories and unknowingly walked into an art gallery displaying his artwork. After waking up in the hospital, the only item that Guertena had with him was a lighter with a 'G' initialed onto it. That was how he assumed his new name: Garry
1. Guertena

Guertena was born to be an artist. He was sure of it. He considered himself a prodigy and some people had recognized his ability to paint but why won't people see things through his eyes?

"This...piece of art you're showing me... I don't think I can sell it." An art dealer sat across Guertena as he eyed Guertena's collection: _The Hanged Man. _"In this time of age, people need something positive. This is ... far too morbid. Perhaps you can sell it at circuses?"

The door of the office slammed shut as Guertena stomped away from the building. Circus? How dare he tell him his art was for a circus! He had been dejected before but this was too much.

Guertena arrived at his empty apartment. He didn't need anything but his artwork to keep him company and that room was the proof of that ideal. He placed his painting against the wall and sat down in front of his covered easel. He placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with his lighter.

"Nobody understands."

He turned his attention to his easel. When the cover was taken off, a half-finished painting of a girl with long yellow hair was revealed. The girl's smile was not finished and her blue eyes were not alive as how Guertena always made his artwork to be. After exhaling a smoke-filled breath, he smiled gently at his painting.

"I'll find you a place where I can display you with pride. A home for both of us."

And he began to paint.

x—x—x—x—x

Life proved to be difficult for Guertena to sell his paintings. Excuses after excuses kept him from putting his art into the world. Despite the rejection, he was still able to work on the girl painting with utmost love and care. He poured his feelings towards making this painting more than he ever did in others.

Entering his mid 20s, the feeling of wanting to be a parent came naturally but without the aspect of having a life partner, this proved difficult for Guertena. He was never one to communicate well with women let alone find one that would accept him and his works. Which was why he dedicated all his feelings to this one girl.

_Mary. _That was the name he gave this painting; this identity. He was a daughter to him and would be his daughter that he'd proudly display in his own private gallery.

On his last trip to an art dealer, he brought Mary with him. Proud of his latest creation he let the dealer eye the painting.

"So?" The man said. "This is just another painting of a girl. Lots of people had done this. Nothing special about it."

"But sir, this one is different. I've put my heart into this—"

"That's what everybody says. Only the painter feels that way but what does the viewer feel? Nothing." The man gave the painting back to Guertena. He led the dejected artist to the door.

"Your collection has potential, kid, but had you told me that the artist is dead," said the man as Guertena walked out of his office, "things would be different."

Guertena saw the man's mocking smile as if to tell him to drop dead. The sentence lingered in Guertena's mind. His piece had been about depression and other meanings of life. Take his statues, for example, they were all headless. It began to make sense.

By the time he arrived in his apartment, he was determined. Mary was placed in her easel and Guertena began to list all his work in a notebook. One by one he described what his piece was about; their names, their history were all recorded. Once he finished, he looked around the room and smiled.

"I'm proud of all of you. There's nothing about you that I would change." He turned to Mary. "In a perfect world, we'd all be living together, my daughter."

Guertena took another empty paper and began to write.

"...and may they find a place fit to be called home." was the end of the letter. He placed it on the table where people could easily see and opened his door towards the balcony.

He wondered how long until people realized he was missing. The landlord had frequented visits in his room chasing for rent; perhaps he would be the first to find the letter.

With a bitter laugh, Guertena jumped.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This is my take on the story of Garry. There is no proof that he is Guertena in the game itself, but I like to connect things and I'll try to make things believable. You'll have to keep reading to know which ending I'll apply to this game. It's short but that's because it's just an introduction to the story and the style I'm writing this in.

As mentioned in my profile, the story is inspired by **Juliuslove** a fellow Ib fan.

The main focus in this story will be Garry and later on, Mary. It will explain why the gallery did what it did to Garry, of all people.

Hope you'll enjoy the story :)


	2. The Hospital

"Oh, you're awake."

Guertena awoke to the sound of a woman's voice. He shaded his eyes when all he could see was white: white curtains, white sheets, and a white uniformed nurse.

"I was starting to think you'd be asleep forever."

He looked at the nurse's face. His vision was still a bit blurry and his breath was heavy. After blinking several times to adjust, Guertena could finally make out the face of the woman in front of him. She looked like she was in her late 30s, with brunette hair tied into a curled bun. A white cap was affixed to her head making it look like she was wearing a crown. She looked beautiful and, from the way she was treating him, motherly.

"I'm Margaret. Your nurse day and night! So tell me, Mr. Coma, what's your name? We had trouble contacting your family since you didn't have any ID on you."

"M...my name..." Guertena's voice was hoarse. Despite the pain, he tried to sit up.

"No, you shouldn't get up yet. Try to get more rest." She had placed a careful arm around him to push his body back to bed but Guertena held on. His face was stricken with fear as he placed his hand around his head.

"I ... I can't remember ..." He managed to say. "I can't remember ... my name."

The atmosphere in the room changed. The nurse felt pity on this man. She remembered when they first brought him in; his clothes were worn out, his hair was a mess and he had dark rings under his eyes. Perhaps he had been alone all this time which was why he wanted to forget? She soon dismissed that thought and remembered an item that the paramedics gave to her.

"Does this ring a bell? We found it in your coat pocket."

Margaret handed a silver-colored lighter to Guertena. It had a 'G' initial marking the outside, the only hint he had on his name.

"I can't ..." Tears were filling up Guertena's eyes; partly from the pain and partly from frustration. Margaret noticed this and she put him at ease by holding his hands in hers.

"It's okay ... Don't force yourself." She was used to these situations. He was not her first amnesiac patient but he was the first patient to not have a family waiting for him and it hurt to watch. "Tell you what, why don't I give you a temporary name for now?"

The idea of someone naming him was funny to Guertena. He chuckled. "I feel like I'm a lost puppy being named by my new owner."

"Technically, you do have to listen to what I tell you if you want to get better. Now, lie down."

Guertena burst out laughing as he slowly lowered his back to the bed. He was thankful to the woman for not pitying him and treating him that way. Tragedy felt less tragic when you face it with a smile. Margaret pulled out her notepad and started to tap it with the end of her pen.

"Let's see. G ... G ... Gabriel?" She began to list down.

Guertena cringed. "No. Not even."

"Geppetto?" She joked.

"Really? Miss Margaret, I pity your child for possibly having some weird names."

"Hey! My child has the greatest name! Anyway, what about Garry? With double 'r' to make it more burly." She brought her arm up in an attempt to show off her muscle when she said the word 'burly'.

Again, Guertena laughed at this silly woman and nodded at the name suggestion. "Well, it's the most normal name you've suggested so far. Seeing how my luck runs, I'll take it!"

"Suit yourself." Margaret wrote down the name Garry under the patient's name section. "And here I was about to suggest the name Gaston. _That's _a burly name."

After checking Guertena's – now Garry – pulse and overall condition, Margaret left him to get some more rest. There will be things to deal with later, particularly bills, that she would need to inform him soon. When she walked to the receptionist to "gossip" about this boy, the doctor overheard how the patient had lost his memory. He was concerned that this would mean that the unknown patient could not afford to pay.

"I'll have to call the police to help recover his identity."

"But Doctor, he just recovered, can't we let him stay for a while longer?" Margaret begged.

"We can't let him stay for free forever. He's been out for weeks and that's a lot of loss." The doctor sternly replied and walked towards his next patient.

Knowing that it was unfair for Garry, Margaret decided to stop by his room again. She found him holding on to his lighter and flipping it open and closing it again. When he saw her, tucked it away from view.

"Hi Garry, sorry for coming back so soon but ..." She wasn't sure what to say. Would he be in trouble if the police get here? What if he won't be able to pay? Will he be put to jail? The thought of this lost young man being locked in a jail cell, confused and alone, broke her heart. She had to do something.

Without finishing her sentence, Margaret dashed outside of the room towards her locker. She rummaged through her bag looking for what she hoped could help and once she found it, she sighed in relief. Onward to the next stop, she scurried past a few other nurses that greeted her, all the way to the laundry room. She inquired something to the ladies that were there and they handed her a bag. She thanked them before returning back to Garry's room.

"Just in case you have to leave," she announced as she handed the bag to him, "I found some outfits that might fit you along with your horribly tattered coat."

"Oh ... wow, thanks Ms Margaret. How thoughtful of you." Garry smiled as he inspected the clothes he was given: a green-colored tank top shirt, a pair of brown pants and his, apparently, old coat. "Boy, this does look horrible."

"The only outfit that isn't yours is the green one. It's my husband's. I hope it'll fit you." Margaret quickly added.

"Shouldn't be a problem. With this kind of coat, I think people would see me and understand why it doesn't fit." He joked. His mood seemed better compared to a few minutes ago and Margaret noticed this.

"You seem a bit cheerful and I'm sure that's not the drugs doing."

"No, I ... um, I just feel better, lighter, compared to ... when I was an unknown person. Now I feel like I could start over as a Garry." His eyes were looking straight with hope and expectations.

"Perhaps you can be a painter." Margaret jokingly suggested.

"Why do you say so?" Garry turned to look at her with his brows raised.

The nurse shrugged and raised her hand as a way of saying she was unsure. "Based on the coat? The hair? In any case, I myself enjoy art." She lit up upon remembering something. "In fact, there is an art gallery coming up that I will attend tomorrow. You should drop by if you can."

Garry smiled at her invite and with his hands crossed in front of him he asked, "Won't I be a bit _too _sick to go out?"

Margaret laughed. She tapped his head gently before walking towards the door. "Just because you have pants now, doesn't mean you can be Mr. Smarty-pants." With one last worried look, she told him to have a great rest.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The police did try to find him. There was no report on a missing person but they still had to somehow assist on getting the amnesiac man back to his old neighborhood. While the two cops – guided by a doctor – were walking down the white hallways, Margaret was quietly praying that Garry would be able to avoid this whole ordeal. Her prayer seemed answer, soon after, when she heard the doctor's voice calling out for a missing patient.

Garry knew he would be kicked out of the hospital sooner or later. He assumed that he had no money even after he remembered his name, so with the clothes that was provided for him, he made his escape. It had been weeks since he was in a coma and his body had already started to recover. Garry had no trouble climbing over the window.

He walked around in search for a place to sleep but where would he start? He was a man without a name or money, which crossed out any types of inns or motels around the area. How about a homeless shelter? He considered for a while. Surely it was the best place to stay. He would get a free bed and meal and perhaps he could get someone there to help him find work. Even though it felt wrong, Garry even considered playing his "amnesiac" card if needed.

Worst comes to worse, he would have to sleep in the park and shower in some sort of public pool. It was interesting to note how the brain forgot information about him yet it hadn't forgotten the basic human survival skill.

As the day became dark and cold, Garry still had no luck finding any type of place that would shelter him for the night. Weary from too much walking, he finally decided to look for a bench instead. It had to be better than the cold floor. Once he spotted an empty bench by the park, he jogged towards it before he jerked to a stop.

'_As if someone will steal it from me?' _he chuckled. Garry lied there with his eyes fixed on the night sky. There were no shooting stars tonight but the view was still grand and soothing somehow. Without much to do, Garry began to wonder what had happened in the past: how he was wounded, where his families were, whether or not he _had _a family.

His eyes soon became heavy with drowsiness and after all of the thoughts that came across his mind, Garry couldn't help but feel an emptiness in his heart.

* * *

**AN: **

I know it's a short chapter. I wanted to post the gallery scene here too but it felt right to end this here for the night. Garry will visit the Art Gallery tomorrow. If you didn't notice, the nurse was talking about the same Art Gallery as the one he'll stumble upon. Can you guess who the nurse is? (I totally made this part up, btw.) I'll reveal it in later chapters!

Remember, this is _not _a canon, just a plot I thought of to provide a reason why Garry was one of the victims of the gallery incident.

Thanks for reading. Please review to tell me how to improve! :) I take constructive criticism.


	3. He's Here

"We have another one!"

Garry woke up to a harsh poke on his side by some type of wooden stick and opened his eyes to see a mustached officer. With an aching back, he sat up and apologized to the mustached man before walking towards the waking city.

'_I need a job,' _Garry thought and indeed he did, otherwise how would he survive daily? As if the world heard his request, a man suddenly fell on the road in front of Garry spilling all of the colorful tiny food he was carrying. In reflex, Garry quickly tend to his side and helped him up. It seemed that the man had sprained his ankle.

"Damn it! I really need to set this up." The man said after Garry had sat him on a chair within the store. He was a baker – the only one working there – and that he was putting up his macaroons on the display when he tripped.

"I can help you. It's not like I have anything else to do." Garry's smile helped convince the baker. Besides, who else could he ask help to? He needed to open his shop and he wouldn't able to do so without help.

"Alright. I'll let you handle today's work. You volunteered so this is a free thing." Garry laughed at the man's comment.

Garry was given instructions on what batch of bread goes where and how many and what must be put in the oven. The baker insisted Garry to take off his jacket so now he was only wearing his green tank underneath the apron as he ran back and forth to deal with the preparation of the bakery.

Soon, people started to come by; partly because of the delicious bread that the baker had, partly because of the new face the regulars didn't recognize. Indeed Garry was a charming man, with his feminine way of talking and his sweet smile, the women stuck around for longer and eventually bought twice than they normally would. The baker noticed this and brought this to consideration when the day had ended and the shop had closed.

"Sorry, I end up having you work the whole day. Hope I didn't ruin your plans."

"Ah, I'm the one who's sorry for not being able to bring you to a hospital or anything." Garry replied as he took off the apron and hung it on the wall. To be honest, he was glad he didn't have to go to the hospital for fear of being caught by the police.

"This sprain is nothing compared to the other accidents I've endured in the shop." The man laughed at patted Garry's arm.

"Um, since you still can't walk, do you want me to help you get home?" Garry offered a hand to the baker.

"I do have a car at the back so you won't have to carry me if you're worried about that. I actually still need your help bringing the leftovers to the car so I can bring it home to my family."

_'A car?'_ Garry quietly pondered if he knew how to drive a car. He didn't really have a drivers' license with him either so it would be bad if a police stopped them. The baker noticed Garry's silence stated to apologize for taking more of his time but Garry shook his head.

"No, it's not that. You see..." And so Garry told the man why he was wondering the street with no plans to be ruined when being asked to help. The baker listened to Garry with pity but Garry himself wasn't telling the story to be sympathized with. In fact, Garry was doing it to let his burden go. He didn't think there was anything wrong with having an amnesia nor did he feel any negativity about it. Just like what he had felt before, he felt free and perhaps even lighter if that was possible.

"That's some story." The baker wouldn't have believed it had he not seen the hospital bracelet that Garry was wearing when he took off his coat. Then again, "You're not a run-away mental patient, are you?"

To this, Garry laughed. "Oh, I wish I was, then at least I have an identity. If you'd like to check though, feel free to go to the hospital that I stayed at and inquire there. You need to check up on your ankle anyway.

The baker dismissed the idea and decided to trust Garry. He hadn't shown any signs of hostility or madness the whole day anyway. He didn't even try to sneak money out of the register. The baker lucked out on an honest-to-goodness young man – who the ladies seem to like. In the end, the baker invited Garry to stay at his house for the night and gave him his pay for the day - to which Garry refused at first. He then let Garry try some of the macaroons left over that immediately became Garry's favorite. Those little sweet burger-like dessert was always a treat for everyone.

Garry soon became a fixed employee at the bakery working with the understanding baker. He used his money for things such as clothes and underwear – boy was he desperate for new underwear, but for the rest, the baker provided him with them. He even allowed Garry to babysit his children when he and the missus were going out for a date. Garry was treated as family but he knew, somewhere in his heart, he wanted his own family. Or maybe even had one at the moment.

Some nights, Garry would dream of a girl and her smile; women in different colored dress, sitting and waiting for him, her beauty mesmerized Garry to no end; or he'd just be submerged n the color blue. None of his dreams made any sense to him. If only it didn't re-occur every other night or so, it'd be easier to ignore. So finally he decided to take a walk around town on his next day-off. He exited the house at dusk and enjoyed the chilly morning air that caused white steamy cloud to appear when he exhale.

He didn't know where he was going, he simply wanted a walk, but somehow his feet soon brought him to a building with a poster stand.

"Guertenna Gallery Show. The art of the missing genius Guertenna are being shown to public for today only."

Garry looked at a few painting examples of this Guertenna had made. Why did it feel so ... nostalgic? He never thought he'd be interested in art but something about the paintings, the name and the gallery itself was calling Garry to enter.

As if pulled by invisible puppet strings, Garry entered the gallery.

_x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Do you have your handkerchief, Ib?" A motherly brunette lady looked down to her daughter as they entered the gallery. She had been waiting for the gallery to open for weeks and now was finally her chance to visit. The daughter in question replied with a small nod.

"Ok, you can go ahead but don't wander off too far." After saying that Ib ran upstairs and was gone. That girl was a worrisome to her mother; quiet and a bit of a loner. If only she had more time off work to accompany Ib to a play area and such.

"Just sign in this book." The receptionist handed them a pen that Margaret—a nurse in a hospital—took to write down her family's name. She was handed a pamphlet that listed all of the works displayed in the gallery.

"You're here already, might as well enjoy it." Her husband's voice took her attention from the pamphlet. Indeed, she went to this gallery to keep her mind off of the man that escaped from the hospital. After her shift had finished, she went home and told the story to her husband. Until now, she still wished that she had helped him better.

"You're right. By some odd miracle, that man is probably nearby and we just don't know it." Smiling, she intertwined her fingers with her husband's and the two went around the gallery.

_x-x-x-x-x-x_

"_He's here."_

The gallery pulsed with a sudden realization. The whale from the Abyss of the Deep sang his welcome, alerting everyone. The Tattletale painting was talking nonstop, whispering: _"he's back, they saw him, he heard it, smell, his smell, happy, I'm happy! Tell Mary. Tell her!" _But something was wrong. He didn't greet them like usual. Where was his smile? Where was his cigarette odor? Where? Who was he?

The women in the painting wept, some gritted their teeth – scratching the edges with their manicured nails. "_He left us. Abandoned us. We don't want him here! Traitor! TRAITOR!"_

"_Let's play a game together!" _The blue dolls huddled together. _"Draw something! Take me! Take me!"_

"_No! He doesn't love us anymore!" _The headless mannequins wanted to turn away to avoid facing Garry but they couldn't move. _"Make him go away! Go!"_

"_Maybe he just forgot? Or he's tired?" _

"_He's tired of us! He hates us! We never sell, he threw us away!" _

"_Outrageous!" _

"_He's a traitor!" _

"_Daddy! Welcome home!" _

"_Don't you recognize me!" _

"_Call Mary! Mary, he's home!" _

Everyone sported their emotion; crying, biting, shouting, jumping. Behind the painted barrier, within the mold of paint, everyone was alive trying to get out - begging for Garry to notice them. All of their mixed emotion added on each other. It grew. It filled up all the corners of the gallery that it shook the place. And a new dimension was made.

"_Bring him here."_

Mary's voice was the last one to be heard.

* * *

**AN: **

Finally, the gallery scene. I hope you like it :) So basically there's a few days/weeks that had passed after Garry's escape and getting a job to Garry's stumbling into the gallery. I don't really know how long it takes for gallery owner to organize a show so I didn't specify an exact time.

Yes! So a few of you guessed who the lady from last chapter is :) I probably made it obvious :p She is indeed Ib's mother. I don't think the name "Margaret" is a canon since I made it up.

Eventually I will be jumping around, writing for Garry, then Ib, then Mary then whatever comes to mind as more character shows up. It might get confusing, so let me know if the "skip" isn't clear.

Thank you for those who put this story on your follow list and favorite list. I'll be completing this story for sure, not sure after how many chapters but.. yeah. Hope it'll be entertaining enough for you to sit through until then. Feel free to give me constructive criticism :) Review is the best way to let me know what you think of this story because I love Ib, the game and the story, and I do want to do justice to it.

See ya on the next chapter!


	4. Gallery

Something was wrong. Something was _really _wrong.

Garry found himself sitting down; his eyes wide with fear unsure of what had happened. The last thing he remembered was the picture of the hanged man (as it was titled) and the noose around the man grew larger and larger until finally, it somehow _grew out _of the frame and pulled him in. Garry had almost whimpered in fear when he heard voices around him that sounded almost like a group of excited children whispering about a new toy.

_He's here! He's home! There he is! He is... here! Miss you... I miss..._

"Who's there?!" he called out, but nobody showed themselves to him and instead giggles of little children were heard in replacement of their chattering. "Please don't scare me like that..." Garry found himself being easily scared by the uncertainty of his surrounding. Something moved behind him and he jumped, yelping in the process.

"Okay! I see you! Come out of there or I'll come and ... and get you!" Within the dim light, Garry could tell the thing that moved was a small creature that was perhaps a small animal who would not be able to follow his order. After gathering his courage, he slowly made his way to where he saw the creature. He followed the eerie corridors that was filled with pictures that he swore had seen things moved within it. The corridor led him to a peculiar room with a large statue of a rose; a blue rose with a petal hanging down as if it was being plucked by someone. Right in front of the statue was an actual rose soaking in a blue vase. Garry carefully reached out for it and as soon as he touched it, the thorn pricked him. However, the wound quickly healed itself soon after.

"What's...what's happening?" He looked at his now-healed hands and back at the rose and to the statue. Was there some significance between the three? The petals on the rose looked complete but not on the statue. Were they telling him something? Garry took the rose and pulled out one petal. Instantly he felt a sharp pain in his heart and the wound in his hand returned.

"NO!" Panicked, he threw the rose back into the vase and somehow, the rose returned to its normal state and so did his hand. His blood ran cold when he realized how his life was now depending on the rose. He knew he had to protect it. He tried carrying the rose along with the vase but it wouldn't budge; he had to carry it on its own. To which he did. Carefully. The rose was held protectively in Garry's shaking hands. Things were not looking good. Just as Garry was about to be grateful of his new life, he was now stuck in this mysterious place with his life depending on a stupid rose.

'_There's still hope. I was given a second chance for something. Come on, Garry. Just...figure out a way to get out of here.' _Garry let out a long shaky breath before fixing his stance. He was quite a tall man and with no one around, he started to feel like he would be able to handle things well. "I'm not scared. I'm not scared. I'm _not _scared." he mumbled to himself as he turned back to walk to the other side of the hall. The moving picture still bothered him but he was determined to ignore him and so he managed to walk further away from where he started, through locked doors, puzzles that gave him an unknown key and other odd exits that ended up leading him to a particular hall filled with a similar picture of a woman in different colored clothes.

"What...is this place?" As far as his eyes could see, repeated painting of the woman existed all around the wall. He wanted to ignore it but he felt compelled to admire the beauty of the woman. She was drawn only from chest up, with her long black hair flowing down behind her one colored dress. Her eyes matched the color of the dress—it was blue like Garry's rose—and her smile was so prettily drawn. In fact, it was so pretty that Garry could not tear his eyes away from her, just like the hanged man painting.

"Blue..." he mumbled absently, taking out his rose to be held in front of the painting. The two colors matched. And the woman's smile grew bigger.

"MINE!" The woman screeched and sprang out from the wall.

"AAARGGH!" Garry jumped back until his back was against the wall opposite of the woman that was now on the ground, crawling her way towards Garry. Half her body was out; her long hair flowed out and was now covering half her face showing only her ridiculously wide smile.

"Get away!" In reflects, Garry kicked the woman in the face and picked himself up but that had enraged her even more. Her screeched was louder, saying: "Mine! MINE! MIIINE! MY FLOWER!"

She caught Garry's leg and he fell down—the blue rose fell not far away from him. She took this chance to snatch the rose and quickly crawled away with unnatural speed. "Wait!" Garry shouted after her but she quickly disappeared before he saw where she went.

'_No! The flower.. if something happened to the flower I'll—" _Garry hadn't even finished thinking about the consequences of having his rose stolen when he felt the sharp pain he felt before. This was it, he thought, as his strength was slowly taken away until he couldn't even stand up anymore. Panic and fear attacked him and tears began to swell up as he shouted out as loud as he could.

"HEEEEEELP!"

* * *

Another voice, she thought.

On another part of the magic museum, a little girl with a red sailor uniform was trying her best to solve the puzzle she was handed. Math wasn't her best skills but she had managed to slowly count the numbers needed for the door to open it. _Click_ it went when she put in the right combination. Smiling to herself, the girl walked in and saw yet another hallway.

When she thought she was all alone there, she stumbled across a body of a man sprawled on the floor. The girl was careful not to suddenly run towards him shaking him to wake up since she had experienced being chased by odd things. However, the closer she went to the man, the more ... different he seemed.

"Ungh..." he groaned as she took something near his body. A key? Why did he have a key? Was he also one of those weird statues that would chase her? Unsure if her theories were correct, she walked passed him to see if the key could open something. Unfortunately, the door down the hall was blocked by a statue that she'd met earlier. She didn't have much luck when trying to push it so that led her to retrace her steps to another room.

Careful not to step over the man, the red sailor girl tiptoed her way to the next room where a vase was there. Just in case, she placed her rose in there and it instantly restored the flower and she felt like she could breath better. _'So this thing really _is _my life.'_

She didn't have to search far when she found another door and managed to open it using the key she stole to find a painting _destroying _a blue rose. The girl froze in place for a moment, taking the situation in. She recognized the rose to be something similar with hers and the numbers of petals around it was plenty enough to almost kill the person who owned that rose. The body of the man came back to her and she, being the smart girl, connected the dots.

'_I need to save him.' _Her little mind thought. Slowly, she inched her way towards the painting, hoping that it won't attack her. How wrong was she when the painting suddenly turned around and began to chase her. It was fortunate that the painting was crawling slow enough that she managed to maneuver her way to the rose before bolting out of the room. She felt safe knowing that paintings couldn't open doors however, her hair at the back of her neck stood up when she heard a window shattering followed by the all-too-familiar crawling noise.

"Eeeek!" She cried as she ran away to the next room. This time, the woman was not able to follow her and she panted her way to the vase that still had water in it. _'Please, please make this work.' _She wished as she placed the blue rose inside it.

She let out a relieved smile when the blue rose turned back to normal in no time. She almost tripped when she speedily took the rose to check on the man.

* * *

"Ngh..." Garry groaned as he felt his strength returning. '_Weird. I'm not...dead yet...? Or is this ... what death feels like?'_

Garry opened his eyes and looked up to see a pair of white underwear. He quickly threw his eyes upwards and met with the owner of the underwear; a little girl with long black hair.

"Whoah!" The long hair alarmed him that Garry, still on the ground, jumped back only to hurt his body even more due to the odd position he was in to be 'jumping away'. That sudden pain stopped Garry from embarrassing himself further and allowed him to assess the situation.

"Are you... from the museum? Another victim of this... weird place?"

The girl nodded her answer like an obedient little girl that it brought a smile to Garry's face. "Well, sorry if I scared you. I thought you were one of those creatures..." Garry noticed the blue rose she was holding, fresh and recovered. "Oh! Don't tell me you got my rose back from that...painting?"

Again, the girl nodded and Garry's smiled grew wider. '_She's an adorable one! Almost like a puppy._' Garry absently thought in his head. "Thank you very much for that! You just saved me from possibly dying. It would be proper for me to repay you by helping you get out of this mess. Do you mind if I join you...uh..."

The girl shook her head quietly before saying her name in the cutest little girl voice. "I..b... My name..."

Garry had to keep himself from hugging the life out of the Ib girl when she answered. "Nice to meet you Ib. I'm Garry." He held out his hand to shake and Ib carefully took it, her small hand buried under Garry's large hand. Now that the bond had been made, Garry felt much better and more confident about finding a way out of there.

"Well, follow me Ib! I'll get you out of here in no ti-AAY!" Garry let out a girly scream when a painting spit on the floor in front of him. "That was... ehm," he tried clearing his throat to compose himself again, his face blushing, "Ib be careful with all these paintings okay? If you see anything weird, call me and I'll save you."

Ib, being shorter in height, was looking up to Garry when he squealed. She kept herself from giggling because her mother taught her it was rude to laugh at another person's embarrassment. _"Think about that person's feeling." _She would say. But when Garry told her that he would save her, she couldn't help but let out a small smile when recalling the fact that _she _was the one that saved _him _not so long ago.

* * *

**AN:**

Finally! Garry and Ib are in the museum! I wasn't sure if the dialogs should be the same as it was in the game, or if I should just keep it .. natural as how I see it..  
Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! Let me know what you think. (Also about the dialog bit) And I'll see you on the next chapter!

Thanks for those that followed this story and even put this in your favorite list 3 And those that reviewed 3


	5. Meet Mary

'_Did you know? My father gave me this flower.' _

Little slender fingers traced the yellow rose petals made of canvas cloth material. A girl was telling her blue doll friends, proud of the ownership of the flower; the only yellow flower that existed in this place. _'He said it matches my hair. Oh did you also know that yellow is his favorite color? People made fun of him for that. I think they're just mean. I like yellow. And blue. And red too. They're all pretty. My dad made me pretty. I really love him and... he loves me too.'_

The blue doll's smile widened and the girl giggled. _'He's coming for me. I know it. He missed me too much.' _she told her friend as she got up on her feet and began pacing around the room. _'He sure is taking his time thought. Maybe I should go and look for him. He might be lost.'_ She turned to the doll and shook its hand. _'Help me look for him too, okay? Let him know I'm looking for him.'_

With a small wave to the doll, the blond haired girl ran off to find her father.

* * *

During the course of their creepy adventure together, Garry quickly warmed up to Ib even though the girl was not much of a conversation starter. Holding the young girl's hand in his made him all warm and fuzzy and, for some reason, sad. He assumed it was because of the dreaded goodbye he had to do with Ib when this whole thing was over. Men his age befriending a girl her age with no blood relation would be looked upon by society as... well, something unpleasant.

"Good! The door is open. Let's go Ib!" With their hands still intertwined, Garry pulled Ib along with him as they followed the red footprints. Just as they went through the next room, someone bumped into them and fell to the floor.

"Ahh!" The person said. Fearing the worst, Garry was ready to pick Ib and run as fast as he could when he saw who it was that he bumped into. It was a girl not that much different from Ib except for her long wavy blond hair and her green puffy dress.

"Whoa, are you okay?!" Garry shouted as he kneeled by the girl, his hands carefully hovering around her protectively but not actually touching her. She had the most beautiful, clear, blue eyes as she stared back in surprise at Garry. Her stare was very intimate and deep for someone who had just met Garry; so intimate that Garry was forced to look away in discomfort.

'_That's not him. That's not father. He's not my father!'_

Mary, the last creation of Guertena, stared at the person in front of her. He looked just as she remembered; alive in tattered clothing, but something was different. He wasn't ... him. He didn't even recognize her. _HER. _Mary! THE Mary, the creation that Guertena had claimed to be his daughter where each stroke of his brush resembled a loving caress that of a father's hand to his daughter. Had she been a human, tears would fall from her eyes. Instead, all she could do was step away in reflex.

"Ah! Wait!" The tattered man called out that gave a slight hope for Mary.

"Hey, are you..." Garry stepped closer to Mary, closing the distance she had created. The smile returned to Mary's face until...

"Could you be one of the visitors to the gallery?!" he finished his sentence.

There were no words that could describe the emotional pain that Mary was feeling; forgotten by her creator and replaced by this...this girl. Mary turned her attention to Ib who was standing there quietly while Garry attempted to read the situation.

"As I thought... I'm Garry and this girl is Ib." Garry misunderstood her silence and introduced Ib so casually that it sickened Mary to the core. _He _was supposed to be introducing _her_ to the world just like he promised. Not the other way around! Mary could only stayed quiet as Garry continued his story of how he was in the art gallery before suddenly appearing at this place he was dreading to escape from.

"Presumably, you're doing the same?"

What was she going to say? Was she going to tell the truth? Guertena always told her it was bad to lie but perhaps he was the one that was lying and this was all just a game that he was playing. He didn't actually forgotten about her, right? Right, Mary thought, and so she played along.

"I... I was looking to see if there was anyone else too... I wanted to get out, so..." That wasn't actually a lie. Though some details might have been left out but she was telling the truth about looking for someone else and wanting to get out.

"Ah, I knew it! Well, would you like to come with us?"

"Huh?"

"It's dangerous to be alone here. There are lots of strange creatures around."

Mary wanted to laugh when she heard it. It was one thing to be forgotten but it was another thing to forget them _and _call them strange creatures. A small smile escaped her lips as she sent her condolences to her fellow artwork telepathically about the comment that Garry made. Truly, that man was no longer her father, no longer fit to be Guertena.

"So will you come with us? I think it would be best if we all stay together." Garry continued to ask when he didn't get a reply from Mary.

'_Best if we all stay together. That was one of the things father used to say to us.' _ Mary thought to herself while faking a smile. "Yeah! I'll come..."

Her fake smile triggered Garry to smile back at her too; a smile that Mary did not recognized as his.

"Then it's decided! Oh, what's your name?"

To this question, Mary had no trouble answering. She was happy with her name, proud of it, in fact for having such a pretty name. Now that she was moving and talking, saying her name gave its own thrill. "Mary..."

Garry took her little hand and clasped it in between his big hands. "Mary it is then. Nice to meet you." He said, with a warm smile.

"...yeah! And nice to meet you, Ib." Mary looked over to Ib, the girl whom she understood to have replaced her position next to Garry. Ib looked down in embarrassment before replying with a soft voice, "nice to meet you too." The girl seemed easily flustered and quiet that it interest Mary. Maybe, just maybe, she would be more fun that her blue doll friends.

While Mary was carefully looking at the new situation she was in, Garry began to give a short encouragement line before heading towards the vase. Ah, the vase. Mary gripped her rose tightly while Garry and Ib placed their roses one by one to replenish its state. The half wilted flowers turned fresh. Mary knew her flower was not real so she distracted Ib and Garry by saying things that weren't related so that she wouldn't have to show the flowers to the two humans.

Garry sighed in slight frustration when the new girl failed to see how serious their situation was. Being the only adult in the team, he felt responsible to keep these two alive. So far, he had done a good job (not that they traveled very far) nevertheless; he intended to keep them in that state. "Come on then, let's move on. Just don't touch anything." He warned the girls who were walking behind him.

They weren't touching anything but... they were looking at something. It was a beautiful painting—albeit a weird one—that Garry also couldn't look away from. Knowing how odd this cursed gallery was, one would think twice before staring deep into a painting. Perhaps nothing was wrong with staring at it because Garry was able to notice that something was moving inside the painting moving towards _them_.

"Look out!" He shouted, pushing the girls away from the painting before jumping out of the way himself. There was nothing that came out from it but instead, something sprouted from the ground. "Wha—" Garry whispered in disbelief.

He didn't pay much attention to how it appeared there once he realized that he was separated from Ib. "Ib! Are you okay?!" He shouted unnecessarily loud. The green vines that were sticking upwards were too hard to be broken by hand alone. It felt like a strong mold of gypsum of sorts just like the headless statue that had been chasing them a few times. "Damn it. I can't seem to ..." Garry was struggling to break one of the vine when he noticed Ib's expression.

The girl tend to not show much emotion on her face but he could see that now she was pretty affected by the separation (or so he would like to think). Her eyes started watering up, her mouth moving silently to repeat the word 'Garry', her hand was squeezing the vines so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"G-gar..." The girl's trembling voice caused an ache in Garry's heart.

"Hey! Ib! Ib, look at me. Ib... Don't worry." He reached over to touch Ib's shaking hands, feeling her hand slightly relaxing. "Go with Mary and look for some sort of scissor. I'll go back to the room and see if I missed anything. Okay? We'll see each other again in no time."

It took Ib a few more soothing sentences from Garry until she finally relaxed. The girl created a closer bond with Garry after he took care of her when she fainted. The nightmare she experience was still haunting her but with Garry, everything felt like it would be okay. With her parents gone, Garry was the only adult she could rely on. She knew he, too, was a victim of this nightmare; that he wouldn't have any power to save them both, but she simply hoped. Hoped that he could help pull her out back to reality.

"Don't worry, Garry. She'll be fine with me." A voice said. Mary's voice.

Both Garry and Ib looked at the blond girl who was standing, smiling innocently as if nothing was wrong. "Thanks Mary." Garry said, exhaling visibly. "Take care of each other okay. Be careful out there. If anything happens, come back here."

Mary pulled Ib's hand, separating the quiet girl even further from Garry into the next room. Perhaps this was a good thing after all. Perhaps Mary's job was not to take Guertena back but to save Ib from the evil that is the adult world. She knew enough that adults were selfish and only cared about themselves. _'And they're all liars.' _Mary added, her hatred burning her deeper.

The two young girls looked for anything useful but they couldn't find anything except for a palette knife. "Hmm... I think I'll hold on to this. You know... Just in case..." Mary commented as she pocketed the knife. Ib failed to interpret Mary's smile as something dangerous. Of course, the poor girl couldn't have known what was going to happen.

"Wh-what is this?!"

* * *

On the other side, Garry felt chills behind his back when he realized that a certain blue doll was following him throughout the hallway. Words appeared on the wall asking Garry to take the doll along with him. Each time Garry ignored it, the message constantly grew to be more disturbing. _'Why are you ignoring me? Do you hate me?' _The message wrote. It continued to tempt Garry into taking and playing with the doll. Garry walked even faster, trying his best not to be bothered by the messages. _'Be here forever.'_

"How long are you going to follow me?!" At the end of the hall, the doorway was blocked by the doll. In his frustration, Garry kicked the doll aside. "Out of the way!"

The doll sat there on the side, sprawled helplessly. Its red eyes stared blankly ahead.

* * *

"Ib, is Garry your father?"

In another hallway, the two girls were walking hand-in-hand; Ib trying her best not to be overcome by fear, when Mary suddenly asked that question. "No, he's just a stranger." Ib answered quietly in almost a whisper.

"I bet you want to meet with your parents again right?"

Ib nodded, remembering the painting of her parents in a previous room. They weren't trap here as well, right? Ib shuddered to think that she'd escape this place only to find her parents missing from the real world.

"Say, if only two of us can escape, who would you choose Ib?"

Ib turned to Mary. What's with all these hard questions? "We'll...all make it..." Ib carefully answered, eyes returning back to her shoes.

"I said what if... Who would you choose...Ib?"

"..." There was no best way to answer that question, Ib thought as she kept quiet.

* * *

**AN**

Thanks guys who has been following this story and waited for me to finally upload a new chapter! What do you think of this chapter? I wanted to put more parts until when Garry need to quickly find the key but I figured I'll put that off since I might need to work on that when I have more free time.

I hope I managed to channel a lot of Mary's disappointment from Garry.. and the creepiness of this gallery. I did a lot of skipping back and forth here since I didn't really want to put a lot of the puzzles and the chats in between in it. I only put the scenes that really tugged at my heart. It's slightly different with the way it was in the game (where Ib actually has to answer the question instead of staying quiet regarding Mary's last question up there).

So yeah.. I'll try to work on the next chapter much quicker but no promises. I just wanted to post this so you guys know that I am working on this story still :)

Thanks again for your patience! Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if I need improvement, what you think, what you'd like to see etc..


End file.
